Professor Barbora deCourten

Distinguished Professor Barbora de Courten OAM, MD PhD FRACP MPH GAICD ExecMBA is a Deputy Dean and Professor of Medicine at the School of Health & Biomedicine at RMIT University and a Specialist Physician at the Department of Diabetes & Vascular Medicine and at General Medicine at Monash Health in Melbourne, Victoria. She has a PhD in Epidemiology, a Master of Public Health, and extensive training in clinical trials from the National Institutes of Health in the USA. She has expertise across the translational research continuum from basic science to human mechanistic studies to clinical trials through to public health interventions and clinical practice. She is also a business-focused Executive MBA delivering practical processes through translational strategy, commercialization, value proposition, and leadership. Barbora's contribution to medical research and healthcare has been recognised by the Order of Australia Medal in 2024.

Barbora is passionate about research into holistic approaches to the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases by promoting health through safe, low-cost and easily scalable interventions with the potential to have an immediate public health impact to prevent and treat chronic diseases. She believes this will impact not only the health of individuals but also be beneficial to our society and the environment we live in.

Barbora's vision is to establish new strategies for the prevention and management of chronic diseases, specifically obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Her goal is that her research findings will ultimately translate into treatment guidelines, reduced diabetes and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality and reduced healthcare costs.

She has worked in a variety of international settings, as reflected by her appointments at prestigious institutions in the USA (NIH), Australia (Baker IDI, Monash University), and Europe (University of Copenhagen and Steno Diabetes Centre). She enjoys an active national and international research network. She is an author of over 210 publications (H-index 67), >500 presentations at national and international meetings and has been awarded $11M in research funding. She is on the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council and Diabetes Australia Research Trust grant review panels, the Lead Fellow for Continuing Professional Development on the Adult Medicine Division Council for the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, a council member of Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society and a member of several conference organizing committees including Australian Diabetes Society, American Diabetes Society (Clinical Nutrition sub-committee) and the Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society. She has supervised over 100 PhD students and junior researchers. She was awarded 18 research awards. Her work has been cited in 7 international policy documents incl. World Health Organization, World Bank, and National Institutes of Health.

Distinguished Professor de Courten promotes the breakdown of information silos in research and supports collaboration across disciplines to achieve major advances in health in shorter timeframes. 

Reporting to the Dean, she leads the applied discipline teams across Psychology, Pharmacy, Nursing and Medical Radiation. 

She is responsible for:

• Updating the curriculum for all healthcare workers to reflect modern workforce requirements including programs in leadership, business management & basics of accounting, design thinking and digital health. 
• Mapping the department's staff key skills and capabilities to ensure we understand what strengths we can draw upon and where we may need to address any unmet capabilities. 
• Developing a detailed research strategy and creating our vision and mission for the next 3 years. 
• Leadership of a transdisciplinary research program across Design, Engineering, IT and Health. 
• Ensuring all courses meet the required accreditation standards.

Awards

• Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in the General Division for Service to Medical Research and Healthcare, Issued by Governor General of Australia, 2024
• Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Fellows Career Development Fellowship, 2021
• Monash University Global Executive MBA Women in Leadership Scholarship, 2020
• Monash Strategic Fellowship, 2020.
• Ranji and Amara Wikramanayake Clinical Diabetes Research Award, 2018
• Royal Australasian College of Physicians Research Establishment Fellowship, 2018 - first reserve 
• Barry Young Diabetes Research Award,  Australian Diabetes Society, 2017
• Royal Australasian College of Physicians Foundation for High Blood Pressure Research Establishment Fellowship Award, 2017
• 2017 Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, Who is who, 2017
• National Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellowship (level 2), 2016-2019
• Royal Australasian College of Physicians Foundation for High Blood Pressure Research Establishment Fellowship Award, 2016
• Royal Australasian College of Physicians Diabetes Australia Research Establishment Fellowship Award, 2015 
• NHMRC Career Development Fellowship, 2006-2013
• Millennium Award, Diabetes Australia,  Australia, 2006
• Slovak Diabetes Association Research Award, Slovak Republic, 2004
• Fellowship Award for Research Excellence (FARE), National Institutes of Health,  USA, 2002
• Fogarty Fellowship, National Institutes of Health, USA, 1999
• PhD scholarships, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Comenius University in Slovakia, 1998

Travel awards

• Carnosine and Anserine conference 2015, Travel Grant,  Monash University, (2014) 
• Inflammation and Obesity Stock Conference, Travel award, Cairns, 2009
• Inflammation and Obesity Stock Conference Travel Award, Istanbul, Turkey, 2005
• EASD Scientists Training Course Travel and Registration Fee Award, Vienna, Austria, 2004
• EASD Travel Grant, Budapest, Hungary, 2002
• EASD Travel Grant, Glasgow, Great Britain, 2001
• Young Scientists Training Course, EASD Travel Grant, Uppsala, Sweden, 1999
• Soros travel awards in 1995, 1996, 1997 (Nepal, India, Thailand

• Australian Institute of Company Directors course, Australia, 2023
• Global Executive Master of Business Administration - Strategy, Globalisation, Innovation & Transformation, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia– 2020-2021 
• Master of Public Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia – 2010- 2012 
• Fellow of Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Australia – 2010 
• Specialty Degree, Internal Medicine, Slovak Medical University, Slovak Republic – 2003 
• PhD, Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Slovak Republic – 2002 
• MD, Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Slovak Republic – 1992- 1998

• Advisory Board Member, Lancet Healthy Longevity Journal 2022 – current 
• RMIT representative to ECHAlliance Melbourne Digital Health Ecosystem
• Member Monash Health Digital Health Management Committee 2020 – current 
• Member, Women in Science Discovery Medicine, Monash University 2018 – current 
• Elected Councillor Australia & New Zealand Obesity Society 2018 – current 
• Elected Lead Fellow Council Royal Australasian College of Physicians 2018 – current 
• Advisory Board Member Australian National Diabetes Audit Benchmarking Program 2015 – current
• Member, Pfizer Advisory Group – 2020
• Member, Nutritional Science and Metabolism Working Group, American Diabetes Association – 2018 – current 
• Member, Eli Lilly Innovation Advisory Group - 2014-2015
• Medical Advisor, Nutromics (MedTech Start-up) - 2021-2022 
• Member, Diabetes Australia Research Trust Research Advisory Panel - 2015-2019
• Advisory Board member, Biogrid - 2018-2019